Mexico City Considers Renewable Two-Year Marriage Term

Some lawmakers in Mexico City are considering amending marriage laws to allow for an initial two-year marriage term that can be renewed if the couple stays together. If they don't, they can separate with no official divorce needed.

Since more than half of Mexico City's marriages end in divorce and most couples split up during the first two years, Leonel Luna, the assemblyman who co-authored the bill, said if his proposal becomes law, "You wouldn't have to go through the tortuous process of divorce... if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends."

He says the idea is gaining support and he expects a vote by year's end.

Mexico City is already more liberal than the rest of the country. It allows women to have abortions and, in 2009, became the first Latin American city to legalize gay marriage.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church, which holds considerable sway among Mexico's citizens, is predictably unhappy about the new "marriage as a contract" idea.

Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese, said, "This reform is absurd. It contradicts the nature of marriage. It's another one of these electoral theatrics the assembly tends to do that are irresponsible and immoral."